System for providing efficient delivery of media content to the masses

ABSTRACT

A system for providing efficient delivery of media content to the masses is disclosed. In particular, the system may include receiving requests for content from a plurality of user devices. The system may then include synchronizing fulfillment timeframes for delivering the content based on a preset time interval. In response to the requests, the system may deliver the content, such as via a satellite network, to a storage device, such as, but not limited to, a digital video recorder, a video-ready-access device equipped with a satellite receiver and antenna, a digital subscriber line access multiplexer equipped with a satellite received and antenna, or any combination thereof, based on the preset time interval. The system may then include causing the storage device to deliver the requested content to the plurality of user devices via a wireless network communicatively linked to the plurality of user devices.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/984,135, filed Dec. 30, 2015, which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present application relates to technologies for content distributionand streaming, satellite networks, cellular networks, wireless networks,and network optimization technologies, and more particularly, to asystem and method for providing efficient delivery of media content tothe masses.

BACKGROUND

In today's society, users are increasingly utilizing network and otherservice providers to gain access to the Internet, request and accessvarious types of content, access software applications, access softwareservices, and perform a variety of other tasks and functions. As anexample, an increasing number of users are subscribing to internetprotocol television (IPTV) services provided by service providers inorder to access various types of media content, such as, but not limitedto, television shows, movies, and programs. Users of such services oftenutilize media processing devices, such as digital video recorders, torecord and store various types of media content provided by variouscontent providers. For example, if certain media content of interest isairing at a time that a user cannot view in real-time, the user may setthe digital video recorder to record the media content so that the usercan view the recorded media content at another time. Additionally, usersare increasingly utilizing mobile devices, such as smartphones andtablets, to access media content, such as through mobile communicationnetworks. Often times, such content is delivered through such networksthrough the use of various content delivery servers and technologies.

While current content delivery technologies provide a variety ofbeneficial features and functions, there is still room to substantiallyenhance and improve such technologies. For example, currentimplementations of on-demand media content delivery are heavilydependent on the availability of internet connectivity options, most ofwhich are assumed to be wired. Additionally, there is a sizable andgrowing community of customers that have “cut the cord” and now dependon the use of various wireless technologies for the effective deliveryof media content. Furthermore, congestion bottlenecks may arise whenthere are multiple simultaneous demands for content, particularly whenthere are limited amounts of cellular, satellite, Wi-Fi, or othernetwork technologies available for the delivery of media content. Basedon the foregoing, content delivery technologies may be modified so as toprovide enhanced quality-of-service for users, improved functionalityfor users, and additional features for users. Such enhancements andimprovements to content delivery technologies may provide for improvedcustomer satisfaction, improved user experiences, and increased savingsfor service providers.

SUMMARY

A system and accompanying methods for providing efficient delivery ofmedia content to the masses are disclosed. In particular, the system andmethods ensure that networks, such as wireless networks, are notoverwhelmed with bandwidth demands that they cannot satisfy, whileservice providers and/or customers retain control of the timeliness,cost, and geographic availability elements relating to access of mediacontent. In order to accomplish the foregoing, the system and methodsmay include providing efficient delivery of media content, particularlywhen multiple users are seeking the same content in the same generalarea. Initially, the system and methods may include receiving one ormore requests for content from a plurality of user devices associatedwith one or more users. A service provider and/or users subscribing tothe services of the service provider may synchronize fulfillmenttimeframes for delivering the content by agreeing to a scheduleddownload of the content at a later preset time, or at an even later timethrough the use of a storage mechanism, such as a digital video recorderor other media storage center.

Once the fulfillment timeframes are synchronized for delivering thecontent, the system and methods may include delivering the content, suchas via a satellite network or other network, to the storage mechanismbased on the preset time interval. If there are one or more wirelessnetworks physically available to the plurality of user devices, thecontent may be delivered from the storage mechanism to the plurality ofuser devices via the one or more wireless networks. In certainembodiments, the content may be delivered to the plurality of userdevices in non-real time using a low-bandwidth delivery mode thatemploys storage-based buffering, which may be configured to allow thecontent to be presented at a later selected time. In certainembodiments, the content may be delivered via a cellular network if thefulfillment timeframe for delivery does not have a heavy impact on thecellular network.

In certain embodiments, a device may be configured to serve as a mediacollection proxy for another device owned, managed, and/or controlled bythe same entity. Once the content is delivered to the device serving asthe media collection proxy, the content may be transferred from themedia collection proxy to the other device when the media collectionproxy and the other device converge in the same environment. In stillfurther embodiments, a very-high-bit-rate digital subscriber line (VDSL)Remote Access Device, such as a video-ready access device (VRAD) and/ora digital subscriber line access multiplexer (DSLAM), may be equippedwith a satellite receiver and antenna and a Wi-Fi, Wi-Max or otherwireless technology to supplant or supplement a wired backhaul of a cellsite in order to deliver content to the plurality of user devices. Oncethe content is delivered to the one or more of the plurality of userdevices, the user devices may present the content at a time designatedby the user, the service provider, and/or a content provider.

In one embodiment, a system for providing efficient delivery of mediacontent to the masses is disclosed. The system may include a memory thatstores instructions and a processor that executes the instructions toperform various operations of the system. The system may perform anoperation that includes receiving a plurality of requests for contentfrom a plurality of user devices. Additionally, the system may performan operation that includes synchronizing, in response to the pluralityof requests, fulfillment timeframes for delivering the content to theplurality of user devices. In certain embodiments, the fulfillmenttimeframes may be synchronized based on a preset time interval fordelivering the content. In certain embodiments, the fulfillmenttimeframes may indicate the preset time interval for delivering thecontent. The system may perform an operation that includes delivering,via a satellite network and in response to the plurality of requests,the content to a storage device according to the preset time interval.Finally, the system may perform an operation that includes delivering,via a wireless network communicatively linked to the plurality of userdevices, the content from the storage device to the plurality of userdevices.

In another embodiment, a method for providing efficient delivery ofmedia content to the masses is disclosed. The method may includeutilizing a memory that stores instructions, and a processor thatexecutes the instructions to perform the various functions of themethod. The method may include receiving a plurality of requests forcontent from a plurality of user devices. Additionally, the method mayinclude synchronizing, in response to the plurality of requests,fulfillment timeframes for delivering the content to the plurality ofuser devices. In certain embodiments, the fulfillment timeframes may besynchronized based on a preset time interval for delivering the content.In certain embodiments, the fulfillment timeframes may provide anindication of the preset time interval for delivering the content.Furthermore, the method may include delivering, via a satellite networkand in response to the plurality of requests, the content to a storagedevice according to the preset time interval. Moreover, the method mayinclude transmitting, via a wireless network communicatively linked tothe plurality of user devices, the content from the storage device tothe plurality of user devices.

According to yet another embodiment, a computer-readable device havinginstructions for providing efficient delivery of media content to themasses is provided. The computer instructions, which when loaded andexecuted by a processor, may cause the processor to perform operationsincluding: receiving a plurality of requests for content from aplurality of user devices; synchronizing, in response to the pluralityof requests, fulfillment timeframes for delivering the content to theplurality of user devices, wherein the fulfillment timeframes aresynchronized based on a preset time interval for delivering the content;delivering, via a satellite network and in response to the plurality ofrequests, the content to a storage device according to the preset timeinterval; and delivering, via a wireless network communicatively linkedto the plurality of user devices, the content from the storage device tothe plurality of user devices.

These and other features of the systems and methods for providingefficient delivery of media content to the masses are described in thefollowing detailed description, drawings, and appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system for providing efficientdelivery of media content to the masses according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a sample method for providingefficient delivery of media content to the masses according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a machine in the form of a computersystem within which a set of instructions, when executed, may cause themachine to perform any one or more of the methodologies or operations ofthe systems and methods for providing efficient delivery of mediacontent to the masses.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A system 100 and accompanying methods for providing efficient deliveryof media content to the masses are disclosed. In particular, the system100 and methods ensure that networks, such as wireless networks, are notoverwhelmed with bandwidth demands that they cannot satisfy, whileservice providers and/or customers retain control of the timeliness,cost, and geographic availability elements relating to access of mediacontent. In order to accomplish the foregoing, the system 100 andmethods may include providing efficient delivery of media content,particularly when multiple users (e.g. first user 101 and second user110) are seeking the same content in the same general area. Initially,the system 100 and methods may include receiving one or more requestsfor content from a plurality of user devices (e.g. first user device102, second user device 106, and third user device 111) associated withone or more users. A service provider and/or users subscribing to theservices of the service provider may synchronize fulfillment timeframesfor delivering the content by agreeing to a scheduled download of thecontent at a later preset time, or at an even later time through the useof a storage mechanism, such as a digital video recorder 170 or othermedia storage center.

Once the fulfillment timeframes are synchronized for delivering thecontent, the system 100 and methods may include delivering the content,such as via a satellite network 120 or other network (e.g. fiber network125), to the storage mechanism based on the preset time interval. Ifthere are one or more wireless networks (e.g. wireless network 185)physically available to the plurality of user devices, the content maybe delivered from the storage mechanism to the plurality of user devicesvia the one or more wireless networks. In certain embodiments, thecontent may be delivered to the plurality of user devices in non-realtime using a low-bandwidth delivery mode that employs storage-basedbuffering, which may be configured to allow the content to be presentedat a later selected time. In certain embodiments, the content may bedelivered via a cellular network if the fulfillment timeframe fordelivery does not have a heavy impact (e.g. threshold impact onbandwidth) on the cellular network.

In certain embodiments, a device may be configured to serve as a mediacollection proxy for another device owned, managed, and/or controlled bythe same entity. Once the content is delivered to the device serving asthe media collection proxy, the content may be transferred from themedia collection proxy to the other device when the media collectionproxy and the other device converge in the same environment. In stillfurther embodiments, a VDSL Remote Access Device, such as a VRAD 162and/or a DSLAM 165, may be equipped with a satellite receiver andantenna and a Wi-Fi, Wi-Max or other wireless technology to supplant orsupplement a wired backhaul of a cell site 137 in order to delivercontent to the plurality of user devices. Once the content is deliveredto the one or more of the plurality of user devices, the user devicesmay present the content at a time designated by the user, the serviceprovider, and/or a content provider. As a result, the system 100 andmethods provide a flexible set of efficient content delivery options forboth service providers and users, which also ensure that the networksinvolved are not overwhelmed.

As shown in FIG. 1, a system 100 that provides efficient delivery ofmedia content to the masses is disclosed. The system 100 may beconfigured to support, but is not limited to supporting, IPTV services,digital video recorder services, cloud computing services, contentdelivery services, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) services, satelliteservices, fiber services, telephone services, voice-over-internetprotocol services (VoIP), voice-over-long-term-evolution (VoLTE)services, LTE services, software as a service (SaaS) applications,gaming applications and services, social media applications andservices, operations management applications and services, productivityapplications and services, mobile applications and services, and anyother computing applications and services. The system may include afirst user 101 that may utilize a first user device 102 to accesscontent, data, and services, or to perform a variety of other functions.As an example, the first user 101 may utilize first user device 102 totransmit signals to the system 100 to request various types of mediacontent, store media content on the digital video recorder 170, controlthe digital video recorder 170, control the media device 175, performany other operations, or any combination thereof. Media content mayinclude, but is not limited to, audio content, video content, imagecontent, web content, text content, any type of content, or anycombination thereof. In certain embodiments, the media content may bestatic content, dynamic content, or a combination of static and dynamiccontent.

In certain embodiments, the first user 101 may be a subscriber of aservice provider that controls communications network 135 and/or thewireless network 185. The first user device 102 may be equipped formobile communication. The first user device 102 may include a memory 103that includes instructions, and a processor 104 that executes theinstructions from the memory 103 to perform the various operations thatare performed by the first user device 102. In certain embodiments, theprocessor 104 may be hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Incertain embodiments, the first user device 102 may be a computer, alaptop, a set-top-box, a tablet device, a phablet, a server, a mobiledevice, a smartphone, a smart watch, or any other type of computingdevice. Illustratively, the first user device 102 is shown as asmartphone device in FIG. 1. In certain embodiments, the first userdevice 102 may communicate with the digital video recorder 170, otherdevices in the system 100, or any combination thereof, by utilizinginfrared radiation, Bluetooth connectivity, ZigBee, Z-Wave, any type ofwireless protocol, radio technologies, or any combination thereof.

The first user 101 may also utilize a second user device 106 to accesscontent, data, and services, or to perform a variety of other functions.As with the first user device 102, the first user 101 may utilize seconduser device 106 to transmit signals to the system 100 to request varioustypes of media content, store media content on the digital videorecorder 170, control the digital video recorder 170, control the mediadevice 175, perform any other operations, or any combination thereof.The second user device 106 may be equipped for mobile communication. Thesecond user device 106 may include a memory 107 that includesinstructions, and a processor 108 that executes the instructions fromthe memory 107 to perform the various operations that are performed bythe second user device 106. In certain embodiments, the processor 108may be hardware, software, or a combination thereof. In certainembodiments, the second user device 106 may be a computer, a laptop, aset-top-box, a tablet device, a phablet, a server, a mobile device, asmartphone, a smart watch, or any other type of computing device.Illustratively, the second user device 106 is shown as a laptop devicein FIG. 1. In certain embodiments, the second user device 106 maycommunicate with the digital video recorder 170, other devices in thesystem 100, or any combination thereof, by utilizing infrared radiation,Bluetooth connectivity, ZigBee, Z-Wave, any type of wireless protocol,radio technologies, or any combination thereof.

The system may also include a second user 110 that may utilize a thirduser device 111 to also access content, data, and services, and toperform a variety of other functions. For example, the third user device111 may be utilized by the second user 110 to transmit signals torequest various types of content, services, and data provided by contentand service providers associated with the communications network 135 orany other network in the system 100. In certain embodiments, the seconduser 110 may be a subscriber of a service provider that controlscommunications network 135. The third user device 111 may be equippedfor mobile communication. The third user device 111 may include a memory112 that includes instructions, and a processor 113 that executes theinstructions from the memory 112 to perform the various operations thatare performed by the third user device 111. In certain embodiments, theprocessor 113 may be hardware, software, or a combination thereof.Similar to the first and second user devices 102, 106, in certainembodiments, the third user device 111 may be a computer, a laptop, atablet device, a phablet, a server, a mobile device, a smartphone, asmart watch, or any other type of computing device. Illustratively, thethird user device 111 is shown as a tablet device in FIG. 1. In certainembodiments, the third user device 111 may communicate with the digitalvideo recorder 170 by utilizing infrared radiation, Bluetoothconnectivity, ZigBee, Z-Wave, any type of wireless protocol, radiotechnologies, or any combination thereof.

In certain embodiments, the first, second, and third user devices 102,106, 111 may have any number of software applications and/or applicationservices stored and/or accessible thereon. For example, the first,second, and third user devices 102, 106, 111 may include cloud-basedapplications, VoIP applications, other types of phone-basedapplications, product-ordering applications, business applications,e-commerce applications, media streaming applications, content-basedapplications, media-editing applications, database applications, gamingapplications, internet-based applications, browser applications, mobileapplications, service-based applications, productivity applications,video applications, music applications, social media applications, anyother type of applications, any types of application services, or acombination thereof. In certain embodiments, the software applicationsand services may include one or more graphical user interfaces so as toenable the first and second users 101, 110 to readily interact with thesoftware applications. The software applications and services may alsobe utilized by the first and second users 101, 110 to interact with theany device in the system 100, any network in the system 100, or anycombination thereof. In certain embodiments, the first, second, andthird user devices 102, 106, 111 may include associated telephonenumbers, device identities, or any other identifiers to uniquelyidentify the first, second, and third user devices 102, 106, 111.

In certain embodiments, the first, second, and third user devices 102,106, 111 may have corresponding device profiles. In certain embodiments,each of the devices in the system 100 may have its own correspondingdevice profile. For example, the media device 175 and the digital videorecorder 170 of system 100 may have their own device profiles.Information included in a device profile may include, but is not limitedto, information specifically corresponding to the first, second, andthird user devices 102, 106, 111, information identifying the types ofdevices that the first, second, and third user devices 102, 106, 111are, information relating to how the first user 101 utilizes the firstuser device 102 and/or second user device 106, information relating tohow the second user 110 utilizes the third user device 111, informationidentifying what type of services and information the first user 101 andsecond user 110 are authorized to access, information indicating eachtype of component included in the first, second, and third user devices102, 106, 111, information identifying the processing power, storagecapacity, download capabilities, upload capabilities, and contentdelivery services subscriptions associated with the first, second, andthird user devices 102, 106, 111, any other information associated withthe first, second, and third user devices 102, 106, 111, or anycombination thereof. The device profiles may be made accessible to anydevice, network, or a combination thereof, in the system 100.

In addition to device profiles, the system 100 may also include userprofiles. A user profile may be a profile corresponding to the firstuser 101, the second user 110, or any other user. For example, the firstuser's 101 profile may include information, such as, but not limited to,a name of the first user 101, the age of the first user 101, demographicinformation associated with the first user 101, information identifyingthe first user device 102 and/or second user device 106 of the firstuser 101, the types of services, such as content delivery services,subscribed to by the first user 101, information identifying a locationof the first user 101, information identifying the type of content thefirst user 101 likes, information identifying the types of applicationsthat the first user 101 utilizes, and any other information. The userprofiles may be stored directly on the first user device 102, the seconduser device 106, the third user device 111, the database 155, on anyother device in the system 100, or on any combination thereof.Additionally, the user profiles may be accessible by any device in thesystem 100, any network in the system 100, or a combination thereof.

The system 100 may also include a satellite network 120, which mayinclude one or more satellites 121, to provide content delivery servicesand/or any other type of services. The satellite network 120 may includeany features, components and/or functionality of a traditional satellitenetwork and may be communicatively linked with any device and/or networkincluded in the system 100. In certain embodiments, the satellites 121of the satellite network 120 may be fed content by a content provider, aservice provider, or any combination thereof. The satellites 121 of thesatellite network 130 may deliver any type of content to communicationsnetwork 135, wireless network 185, any other network, any device in thesystem 100 (e.g. digital video recorder 170, first, second, and thirduser devices 102, 106, 111, etc.), or any combination thereof.Additionally, the system 100 may include a fiber network 125 that mayinclude optical fiber to provide content delivery services and/or anyother type of services. The fiber network 125 may include any featuresof a traditional fiber network and may be communicatively linked withany device and/or network included in the system 100. The fiber network125 may deliver any type of content to communications network 135,wireless network 185, any other network, any device in the system 100,or any combination thereof.

The system 100 may also include a communications network 135. Thecommunications network 135 of the system 100 may be configured to linkeach of the devices in the system 100 to one another. For example, thecommunications network 135 may be utilized by the first user device 102to connect with other devices within or outside communications network135. Additionally, the communications network 135 may be configured totransmit, generate, and receive any information and data traversing thesystem 100. In certain embodiments, the communications network 135 mayinclude any number of servers, databases, or other componentry, and maybe controlled by a service provider. In certain embodiments, thecommunications network 135 may be subscribed to by the first and secondusers 101, 110. The communications network 135 may also include and beconnected to a radio access network, a cloud-computing network, an IMSnetwork, a VoIP network, a VoLTE network, an LTE network, a wirelessnetwork, an Ethernet network, a fiber network, a satellite network, abroadband network, a cellular network, a private network, a cablenetwork, the Internet, an internet protocol network, a multiprotocollabel switching (MPLS) network, a content distribution network, aninternet protocol television network, any network, or any combinationthereof. Illustratively, servers 140, 145 are shown as being includedwithin communications network 135. In certain embodiments, thecommunications network 135 may be part of a single autonomous systemthat is located in a particular geographic region, or be part ofmultiple autonomous systems that span several geographic regions.

In certain embodiments, the communications network 135 may be configuredto deliver media content and services using an internet protocol suiteand by utilizing packet switching. The communications network 135 mayprovide the ability to stream media requested by the first and secondusers 101, 110, provide live television services, provide formedia-on-demand, provide any type of content, or any combinationthereof. In certain embodiments, the communications network 135 mayinclude any of the components and functionality found in traditionalinternet protocol television networks. The communications network 135may include one or more cell sites 137 that may be utilized tocommunicate with the first user device 102, the second user device 106,the third user device 111, the digital video recorder 170, the satellitenetwork 120, the fiber network 125, the server 160, the storage device180, any other device, or any combination thereof. In certainembodiments, the cell site 137 may include hardware components thatinclude any of the functional features of a radio access network. Thecell site 137 may be configured to provide cellular services (e.g. LTEservices), any type of services, or any combination thereof.Additionally, the cell site 137 may include any of the functionality ofa base station utilized in mobile communication networks. For example,the cell site 137 may include any number of antennae, transceivers,digital signal processors, control electronics, GPS receivers,electrical power sources, radio equipment, and electronics equipment tocreate a cell for the communications network 135. The cell site 137 maybe configured to communicate with and receive content and data streamsfrom the satellite network 120, the fiber network 125, the wirelessnetwork 185, or any combination thereof.

Notably, the functionality of the system 100 may be supported andexecuted by using any combination of the servers 140, 145, and 160. Theservers 140, 145, and 160 may be content delivery servers and mayinclude any functionality associated with content delivery servers. Incertain embodiments, the server 140 may include a memory 141 thatincludes instructions, and a processor 142 that executes theinstructions from the memory 141 to perform various operations that areperformed by the server 140. The processor 142 may be hardware,software, or a combination thereof. Similarly, the server 145 mayinclude a memory 146 that includes instructions, and a processor 147that executes the instructions from the memory 146 to perform thevarious operations that are performed by the server 145. In certainembodiments, the servers 140, 145, and 160 may be network servers,routers, gateways, computers, mobile devices or any other suitablecomputing device. In certain embodiments, the servers 140, 145 may becommunicatively linked to the communications network 135, the wirelessnetwork 185, any network, any device in the system 100, or anycombination thereof.

The database 155 of the system 100 may be utilized to store and relayinformation that traverses the system 100, cache content that traversesthe system 100, store data about each of the devices in the system 100and perform any other typical functions of a database. In certainembodiments, the database 155 may be connected to or reside within thecommunications network 135, any other network, or a combination thereof.Additionally, the database 155, in certain embodiments, may serve as acontent source for stored content that may be accessed by thecommunication network 135 so that the communication network 135 mayobtain content for the first and second users 101, 110 in an efficientand effective manner. In certain embodiments, the database 155 may serveas a central repository for content and information requested by thefirst and second users 101, 110. Furthermore, the database 155 mayinclude a processor and memory or be connected to a processor and memoryto perform the various operation associated with the database 155.

In certain embodiments, the database 155 may be connected to servers140, 145, 160, cell site 137, first user device 102, second user device106, third user device 111, digital video recorder 170, media device175, the storage device 180, or any combination thereof. The database155 may also store information and metadata obtained from the system100, store media content, store metadata and other informationassociated with the first and second users 101, 110, store user profilesassociated with the first and second users 101, 110, store deviceprofiles associated with the first user device 102, the second userdevice 106, the third user device 111, the digital video recorder 170,the media device 170, and/or the storage device 180, store locationinformation, store communications traversing the system 100, store userpreferences, store information associated with any device or signal inthe system 100, store information relating to patterns of usage relatingto the first, second, and third user devices 102, 106, 111, storecontent, store software updates for updating devices in the system 100,store data for Internet of Things devices, store mobile versions ofmedia content, store different resolutions of media content, storeservice subscription information associated with content deliveryservices subscribed to by the first and second users 101, 110, storeinformation utilized for identifying communications network 135,wireless network 185, or any combination thereof, store synchronizationinformation for fulfillment timeframes, store preset time intervalinformation, store network condition information, store listsidentifying all devices associated with a particular user, storeaccessibility information associated with accessing wireless network185, store information associated with VRAD 162, store informationassociated with DSLAM 165, store any information traversing the system100, or any combination thereof. Furthermore, the database 155 may beconfigured to process queries sent to it by any device in the system100.

In certain embodiments, the system 100 may include a VRAD 162, which maybe a VDSL Remote Access Device. The VRAD 162 may be a network node thatmay be installed in the first user's 101 and/or second user's 110neighborhoods. In certain embodiments, any number of VDSL lines in thesystem 100 may converge at the VRAD 162. In certain embodiments, theVRAD 162 may serve as a local Fiber to the Neighborhood (FTTN) forvoice, video, and/or data services provided by a service provider of thesystem 100. In certain embodiments, the VRAD 162 may incorporate any ofthe features and/or functionality of a traditional VRAD. The VRAD 162may be communicatively linked with any device, network, and/or componentof the system 100. In certain embodiments, the VRAD 162 may include asatellite receiver 163 and/or an antenna 164. The satellite receiver 163and/or antenna 164 may be utilized by the VRAD 162 to communicate withthe satellite network 120 and to receive any type of content, data,and/or information from the satellite network 120. In certainembodiments, the VRAD 162 may also include a Wi-Fi, Wi-Max and/or otherwireless technology to supplant or supplement a wired backhaulassociated with the cell site 137, so as to provide an alternative meansfor delivering content to any device and/or network of the system 100.

In certain embodiments, the system 100 may include a DSLAM 165, whichmay also be a VDSL Remote Access Device. The DSLAM 165 may be a networkdevice that may be utilized to connect one or more customer digitalsubscriber line interfaces to a high-speed digital communicationschannel using any number of multiplexing techniques. The DSLAM 165 maybe utilized to collect data and aggregate voice and data traffic into acomposite signal via multiplexing. In certain embodiments, the DSLAM 165may include any of the features and/or functionality of a traditionalDSLAM. The DSLAM 165 may be communicatively linked with any device,network, and/or component of the system 100. In certain embodiments, theDSLAM 165 may include a satellite receiver 166 and/or an antenna 167.The satellite receiver 166 and/or antenna 167 may be utilized by theDSLAM 165 to communicate with the satellite network 120 and to receiveany type of content, data, and/or information from the satellite network120. In certain embodiments, the DSLAM 165 may also include a Wi-Fi,Wi-Max and/or other wireless technology to supplant or supplement awired backhaul associated with the cell site 137, so as to provide analternative means for delivering content to any device and/or network ofthe system 100.

The system 100 may also include a digital video recorder 170, which maybe a device that may be configured to record and store media content andinformation, access media content, perform any of the functionality of atraditional digital video recording device, or any combination thereof.The digital video recorder 170 may enable the first and second users101, 110 to request media content, select media content for recordingand/or download, pause the playing of media content, rewind mediacontent, fast-forward media content, and/or to perform other similaroperations associated with a digital video recorder. In certainembodiments, the digital video recorder 170 may be included within aset-top box, may be connected to a set-top box, may be included within agateway, may be connected to a gateway, may be included within aportable media player, may be connected to a portable media player, orany combination thereof. In certain embodiments, the digital videorecorder 170 and the media device 175 may be housed together as a singledevice. The digital video recorder 170 may be controlled by the firstuser 101 by utilizing the first user device 102 and/or any controlspresent on the digital video recorder 170 itself. For example, the firstuser 101 may control the digital video recorder 170 by utilizing anynumber of input devices on the first user device 102, the second userdevice 106, and/or digital video recorder 170. Similarly, the seconduser 110 may control the digital video recorder 170 by utilizing thethird user device 111 and/or any controls present on the digital videorecorder 170. For example, the second user 110 may control the digitalvideo recorder 170 by utilizing a media application of the third userdevice 111 that includes a user interface featuring controls for thedigital video recorder 170. In certain embodiments, a service providerof the first and second users 101, 110 may control the digital videorecorder 170.

In certain embodiments, the digital video recorder 170 may include atransceiver 171 for communicating with the devices in the system 100. Incertain embodiments, the digital video recorder 170 may include anynecessary software and componentry for communicating with mobiledevices, such as, but not limited to, first user device 102, second userdevice 106, third user device 111, the cell site 137, the servers 140,145, the satellite network 120, the fiber network 125, or anycombination thereof. The digital video recorder 170 may also include astorage component 172 that may be configured to store media content anddata. Additionally, the storage component 172 may be configured to storeuser preferences associated with the media content, informationidentifying the specific subscriptions that the first and second users101, 110 have purchased, information identifying the types of servicesthat may be provided to the first and second users 101, 110, any otherinformation, or any combination thereof. Furthermore, the storagecomponent 172 may be configured to store instructions that may beexecuted by a processor 173 of the digital video recorder 170 to performvarious operations that are performed by the digital video recorder 170.The processor 173 may be hardware, software, or a combination thereof.The digital video recorder 170 may also include one or moreapplications, which may be configured to record media content based onone or more inputs received from the first user device 102, the seconduser device 106, the third user device 111, or a combination thereof. Incertain embodiments, the digital video recorder 170 may be configured toemploy storage-based buffering to assist in low-bandwidth delivery modesutilized by the system 100.

The system 100 may also include a media device 175. The media device 175of the system 100 may be a monitor, a television, a tablet device, acomputer, or any other type of device including a display that iscapable of displaying media content. In certain embodiments, the mediadevice 175 may be controlled by utilizing the first user device 102, thesecond user device 106, the third user device 111, the digital videorecorder 170, by utilizing controls on the media device 175 itself, orby a service provider associated with the first and second users 101,110. The media device 175 may be configured to communicate with thedigital video recorder 170, the first user device 102, the second userdevice 106, the third user device 111, any other device, or anycombination thereof. In certain embodiments, the media device 175 mayinclude any number of memories configured to store instructions andprocessors configured to execute the instructions to perform variousoperations performed by the media device 175. The media device 175 maybe configured to display or otherwise output media content provided bythe digital video recorder 170 or by any other device in the system 100.In certain embodiments, the media device 175 may be configured tocommunicate with any of the devices, networks, and components of thesystem 100.

In certain embodiments, the system may include a storage device 180,which may be configured to store any data traversing the system 100, anymedia content, any data, any information, software updates, data files,or any combination thereof. In certain embodiments, the storage device180 may include any of the features, functionality, and/or capabilitiesof database 155. In certain embodiments, the storage device 180 may be amass storage device that may be utilized to distribute content to anynumber of devices in the system 100, such as, but not limited to, firstuser device 102, second user device 106, third user device 111, thedigital video recorder 170, or any combination thereof. The storagedevice 180 may be communicatively linked with any device, component,and/or network of the system 100. In certain embodiments, the storagedevice 180 may provide storage-based buffering, such as during alow-bandwidth delivery mode of the system 100, which may be utilized toenable content to be presented and/or downloaded at a selected time byusers in the system 100.

The system 100 may further include a wireless network 185. The wirelessnetwork 185 may be a network that may be utilized to connect the firstuser device 102, the second user device 106, the third user device 111,the digital video recorder 170, the media device 175, the DSLAM 165, theVRAD 162, any of the devices in the system 100, any network in thesystem 100, or any combination thereof, with one another. In certainembodiments, the wireless network 185 may be a public network, a privatenetwork, a household network, a Wi-Fi network, an Ethernet network, anytype of local network, any type of network, or any combination thereof.The wireless network 185 may also be configured to support infraredradiation technologies, Bluetooth connectivity technologies, ZigBeetechnologies, Z-Wave technologies, any type of wireless protocol, radiotechnologies, or any combination thereof. In certain embodiments, thefirst user device 102, the second user device 106, and/or the third userdevice 111 may only access the wireless network 185 after providingvalid authentication credentials, such as into one or more applicationsexecuting on the first, second, and/or third user devices 102, 106, 111.In certain embodiments, the wireless network 185 may include anyfunctionality an features of a traditional local area network. Incertain embodiments, the first and second users 101, 111 may access thewireless network 175 even if the first and second users 101, 111 residein different locations and/or are located in different locations. Incertain embodiments, the wireless network 185 may be configured tocommunicate with any network in the system 100, any device in system100, or any combination thereof.

Operatively, the system 100 may provide efficient delivery of mediacontent to the masses as shown in the following exemplary scenario. Inthe example scenario, one or more user devices in the system 100 mayrequest content. For example, the first user 101 and the second user 110may request content, such as a movie, by using applications executing onthe first user device 102 and third user device 111 respectively. Incertain embodiments, the first and second users 101, 110 may be locatedin the same area, and, in other embodiments, the first and second users101, 110 may be located in different areas. The requested content mayinclude, but is not limited to, video content, visual content, audiocontent, text content, gaming content, virtual reality content, musiccontent, software content, software updates, firmware updates, newscontent, any type of software, any type of content, any type of datafiles, any type of information, or any combination thereof. The requestsmay be received by the wireless network 185, the digital video recorder170, the VRAD 162, the DSLAM 165, the cell site 137, the servers 140,145, the server 160, or any combination thereof. In certain embodiments,the requests for content may indicate fulfillment timeframes thatindicate time periods that the users would like to receive the contentfrom the system 100. In certain embodiments, the users may set thefulfillment timeframes for each request, the service provider may setthe fulfillment timeframes for each request, and/or the system 100 mayset the fulfillment timeframes for each request.

Once the requests for the content are received, the system 100 maysynchronize fulfillment timeframes for delivering the content to theplurality of user devices based on a preset time interval for deliveringthe content. The synchronization, for example, may be performed byutilizing any combination of the first user device 102, the second userdevice 106, the third user device 111, cell site 137, the server 140,the server 145, the server 160, the communications network 135, thewireless network 185, the VRAD 162, the DSLAM 165, and the digital videorecorder 170. Based on each of the requests for content, the time forfulfilling the requests for may be synchronized so as to minimize theuse of network resources of the system 100. For example, if the firstrequest from the first user 101 indicates that the first request shouldbe fulfilled sometime between 5:00 PM and 6:30 PM and the second requestfrom the second user 110 indicates that the second request should befulfilled between 6:00 PM and 11:30 PM, the system 100 may cause thecontent to be delivered between the time interval of 6:00 PM to 6:30 PMso that the timeframes for fulfilling both of the requests for thecontent may be synchronized.

In certain embodiments, the preset time interval for delivering thecontent may correspond with a portion of time during which fulfillmenttimeframes for different requests for content have some overlap. Usingthe above example, the preset time interval may be between 6:00 PM and6:30 PM because the fulfillment timeframes for the first and secondrequests overlap during that time interval. In certain embodiments, thepreset time interval may also indicate how often the content (e.g.number of times) is delivered to the plurality of user devices or toother devices in the system 100. In certain embodiments, the preset timeinterval for delivering the content and synchronizing the fulfillmenttimeframes may be determined based on network conditions, serviceprovider preferences, or any combination thereof. For example, eventhough the time interval between 6:00 PM and 6:30 PM may be an optimaltime to deliver content because of the overlap in fulfillment timeframesfor the requests from the first and second users 101, 110, the system100 may determine that the network resources may be overwhelmed duringthat time period and that the fulfillment timeframes should besynchronized for delivering the requested content at a later time in theday so as to conserve network resources.

Once the fulfillment timeframes for delivering the content to theplurality of user devices are synchronized, the system 100 may deliver,such as via satellite network 120 (or any other chosen network), thecontent to a storage device according to the preset time interval fordelivering the content. For example, using the above example, thecontent may be delivered to the storage device sometime between 6:00 PMand 6:30 PM. The storage device, for example, may be the digital videorecorder 170, the VRAD 162, the DSLAM 165, the storage device 180, anyother storage device, or any combination thereof. In certainembodiments, the content may be delivered to the storage device onlyonce a threshold number of requests for the same content have beenreceived by the system 100. Once the content is delivered to the storagedevice or at any other selected time, the system 100 may determine ifthere are any wireless networks available to the user devices thatrequested the content. For example, the system 100 may determine thatwireless network 185 is available to the first user device 102, thesecond user device 106, the third user device 111, the digital videorecorder 170, the media device 175, and/or the storage device 180. Ifthe wireless network 185 is determined to be available, the storagedevice may transmit the content via the wireless network 185 to each ofthe user devices that requested the content. Using the above example,the content may be transmitted from the storage device (e.g. digitalvideo recorder 170 and/or storage device 180, etc.) to the first andthird user devices 102, 111. If the wireless network 185 is notavailable, the system 100 may deliver the content to the first and thirduser devices 102, 111 via a cellular network, satellite network 120,fiber network 125, other network, using the transceiver 171 of thedigital video recorder 170, the VRAD 162, the DSLAM 165, or anycombination thereof. Once the content is delivered to the user devices,the user devices may display or otherwise output the content to theusers that requested the content.

In certain embodiments, the system 100 may send the content directlyfrom the satellite network 120, the fiber network 125, the servers 140,145, the VRAD 162, the DSLAM 165 to the user devices that request thecontent. In certain embodiments, the content may be received by thestorage device using a low-bandwidth delivery mode that employsstorage-based buffering so that the content may be viewed and/oroutputted at a later time. In certain embodiments, the content may bedelivered via a cellular network (e.g. communications network 135) ifdelivering the content to the user devices during the fulfillmenttimeframes does not use up a threshold amount of bandwidth of thecellular network. In certain embodiments, if the content is deliveredvia the cellular network, the system 100 may provide a reduction in thefees per bit delivered and/or with an offset of the cost paid by theservice provider for delivering the bits of the content using thecellular network.

In certain embodiments, any of the devices in the system 100 may serveas a media collection proxy for another device in the system 100. Forexample, if first user device 102 and second user device 106 are bothowned and/or managed by the first user 101, and the first user device102 has already received the content (e.g. from digital video recorder170, VRAD 162, etc.), the first user device 102 may transmit the contentto the second user device 106. In certain embodiments, the first userdevice 102 may transmit the content to the second user device 106 byusing a cellular network, the wireless network 185, a public network,any other network, or any combination thereof. In certain embodiments,the first user device 102 serving as the media collection proxy maytransmit the content to the second user device 106 when the first andsecond user devices 102, 106 converge together in a common locationand/or when the first and second user devices 102, 106 come withincommunication range of each other. Notably, any of the devices in thesystem 100 may be utilized to transmit the content to any of the otherdevices in the system 100 depending on network conditions, serviceprovider preferences, user preferences, network availability, or anycombination thereof.

Notably, as shown in FIG. 1, the system 100 may perform any of theoperative functions disclosed herein by utilizing the processingcapabilities of server 160, the storage capacity of the database 155, orany other component of the system 100 to perform the operative functionsdisclosed herein. The server 160 may include one or more processors 162that may be configured to process any of the various functions of thesystem 100. The processors 162 may be software, hardware, or acombination of hardware and software. Additionally, the server 160 mayalso include a memory 161, which stores instructions that the processors162 may execute to perform various operations of the system 100. Forexample, the server 160 may assist in processing loads handled by thevarious devices in the system 100, such as, but not limited to,receiving requests for content from one or more user devices;determining if a threshold number of requests for the content have beenreceived; synchronizing fulfillment timeframes for delivering thecontent to the user devices based on preset time intervals fordelivering the content; delivering, via a satellite network 120, thecontent to a storage device; determining if there is a wireless network185 available for communicatively linking the devices requesting thecontent; delivering, via the wireless network 185, the request contentfrom the storage device to user devices requesting the content if thewireless network 185 is available; delivering, via another network, thecontent to the devices if the wireless network 185 is not available;determining if there are other devices requesting the content;delivering the content to the other devices when the other devices arein communication range of one of the original user devices thatrequested the content; presenting the content; and performing any othersuitable operations conducted in the system 100 or otherwise. In oneembodiment, multiple servers 160 may be utilized to process thefunctions of the system 100. The server 160 and other devices in thesystem 100 may utilize the database 155 for storing data about thedevices in the system 100 or any other information that is associatedwith the system 100. In one embodiment, multiple databases 155 may beutilized to store data in the system 100.

Although FIG. 1 illustrates a specific example configuration of thevarious components of the system 100 the system 100 may include anyconfiguration of the components, which may include using a greater orlesser number of the components. For example, the system 100 isillustratively shown as including a first user device 102, a second userdevice 106, a third user device 111, a satellite network 120, a fibernetwork 125, a communications network 135, a cell site 137, a server140, a server 145, a server 160, a database 155, a VRAD 162, a DSLAM165, a digital video recorder 170, a media device 175, a storage device180, and a wireless network 185. However, the system 100 may includemultiple first user devices 102, multiple second user devices 106,multiple third user devices 111, multiple satellite networks 120,multiple fiber networks 125, multiple communications networks 135,multiple cell sites 137, multiple servers 140, multiple servers 145,multiple servers 160, multiple databases 155, multiple VRADs 162,multiple DSLAMs 165, multiple digital video recorders 170, multiplemedia devices 175, multiple storage devices 180, multiple wirelessnetworks 185, or any number of any of the other components in the system100. Furthermore, in certain embodiments, substantial portions of thefunctionality and operations of the system 100 may be performed by othernetworks and systems that may be connected to system 100.

As shown in FIG. 2, an exemplary method 200 for providing efficientdelivery of media content to the masses is schematically illustrated,and may include, at step 202, receiving a plurality of requests forcontent from a plurality of user devices. In certain embodiments, thereceiving of the requests from the plurality of user devices may beperformed by utilizing the first user device 102, the second user device106, the third user device 111, cell site 137, the server 140, theserver 145, the server 160, the communications network 135, the wirelessnetwork 185, the VRAD 162, the DSLAM 165, the digital video recorder170, any combination thereof, or by utilizing any other appropriateprogram, network, system, or device. At step 204, the method 200 mayinclude determining if a threshold number of requests for the contenthave been received. For example, if the threshold number of requestsaccording to the method 200 is 10 requests and the number of requestsreceived is only 5 requests, then the required threshold number ofrequests would not have been received. In certain embodiments, thedetermining may be performed by utilizing the first user device 102, thesecond user device 106, the third user device 111, cell site 137, theserver 140, the server 145, the server 160, the communications network135, the wireless network 185, the VRAD 162, the DSLAM 165, the digitalvideo recorder 170, any combination thereof, or by utilizing any otherappropriate program, network, system, or device.

If, at step 204, it is determined that the threshold number of requestsfor the content have not been received, the method 200 may includereverting back to step 202 until the threshold number of requests forthe content have been received. If, however, at step 204, it isdetermined that the threshold number of requests for the content havebeen received, the method 200 may include proceeding to step 206, whichincludes synchronizing fulfillment timeframes for delivering the contentto the plurality of user devices based on a preset time interval fordelivering the content. In certain embodiments, the synchronization maybe performed by utilizing the first user device 102, the second userdevice 106, the third user device 111, cell site 137, the server 140,the server 145, the server 160, the communications network 135, thewireless network 185, the VRAD 162, the DSLAM 165, the digital videorecorder 170, any combination thereof, or by utilizing any otherappropriate program, network, system, or device.

In certain embodiments, based on each of the requests for content, thetime for fulfilling the requests for may be synchronized so as tominimize the use of network resources of the system 100. For example, ifhalf of the requests for the content are to be fulfilled sometimebetween 10:00 PM and 11:00 PM and the other half of the requests for thecontent are to be fulfilled between 10:30 PM and 11:30 PM, the method200 may cause the content to be delivered between the time interval10:30 PM and 11:00 PM so that the timeframes for fulfilling the requestsfor the content may be synchronized. In certain embodiments, the presettime interval for delivering the content may correspond with a portionof time during which fulfillment timeframes for different requests forcontent have some overlap. Using the above example, the preset timeinterval may be between 10:30 PM and 11:00 PM because the fulfillmenttimeframes for the first and second halves of requests overlap duringthat time interval. In certain embodiments, the preset time interval mayalso indicate how often the content is delivered to the plurality ofuser devices or to other devices in the system 100. In certainembodiments, the preset time interval for delivering the content andsynchronizing the fulfillment timeframes may be determined based onnetwork conditions, service provider preferences, or any combinationthereof.

Once the fulfillment timeframes for delivering the content to theplurality of user devices are synchronized, the method 200 may include,at step 208, delivering, such as via a satellite network and in responseto the requests for the content, the content to a storage deviceaccording to the preset time interval for delivering the content. Thestorage device, for example, may be the digital video recorder 170, theVRAD 162, the DSLAM 165, the storage device 180, any other storagedevice, or any combination thereof. Using the above example, the contentmay be delivered to the storage device at a time such that the contentmay be delivered to the plurality of user devices requesting the contentbetween 10:30 PM and 11:00 PM. In certain embodiments, the delivering ofthe content to the storage device may be performed by utilizing thesatellite network 120, the fiber network 125, the first user device 102,the second user device 106, the third user device 111, cell site 137,the server 140, the server 145, the server 160, the communicationsnetwork 135, the wireless network 185, the VRAD 162, the DSLAM 165, thedigital video recorder 170, the storage device 180, any combinationthereof, or by utilizing any other appropriate program, network, system,or device.

Once the content is delivered to the storage device, the method 200 mayinclude, at step 210, determining if there is a wireless networkavailable for communicatively linking the plurality of user devices thatrequested and/or are requesting the content and/or is accessible by theplurality of user devices. In certain embodiments, prior knowledge ofthe physical availability of the wireless network may be utilized toenable the scheduling of the delivery of the content to the plurality ofuser devices requesting the content. In certain embodiments, thedetermining may be performed by utilizing the first user device 102, thesecond user device 106, the third user device 111, cell site 137, theserver 140, the server 145, the server 160, the communications network135, the wireless network 185, the VRAD 162, the DSLAM 165, the digitalvideo recorder 170, the storage device 180, any combination thereof, orby utilizing any other appropriate program, network, system, or device.If, at step 210, there is a wireless network, such as wireless network185, determined to be available for communicatively linking theplurality of user devices, the method 200 may include proceeding to step212, which may include delivering the content from the storage device tothe plurality of users via the wireless network. In certain embodiments,the delivering of the content from the storage device to the pluralityof users may be performed by utilizing the first user device 102, thesecond user device 106, the third user device 111, the server 140, theserver 145, the server 160, the communications network 135, the wirelessnetwork 185, the VRAD 162, the DSLAM 165, the digital video recorder170, the storage device 180, any combination thereof, or by utilizingany other appropriate program, network, system, or device.

If, however, at step 210, there is determined to be no wireless networkavailable for communicatively linking the plurality of user devicesrequesting the content and/or accessible by the plurality of userdevices, the method may include, proceeding to step 214, delivering thecontent from the storage device to the plurality of user devices via acellular network, a fiber network, another network, or any combinationthereof. In certain embodiments, the delivering of the content to theplurality of user devices may be performed by utilizing the satellitenetwork 120, the fiber network 125, the first user device 102, thesecond user device 106, the third user device 111, cell site 137, theserver 140, the server 145, the server 160, the communications network135, the VRAD 162, the DSLAM 165, the digital video recorder 170, thestorage device 180, any combination thereof, or by utilizing any otherappropriate program, network, system, or device. At step 216, the method200 may include determining if there are other devices that have notalready received the content, but have requested the content. Forexample, this may occur if other devices have requested the contentafter the content has been delivered to the other user devices that havealready requested the content, after the fulfillment timeframes havebeen synchronized at step 206, at other designated times, or anycombination thereof. In certain embodiments, the determining may beperformed by utilizing the first user device 102, the second user device106, the third user device 111, cell site 137, the server 140, theserver 145, the server 160, the communications network 135, the wirelessnetwork 185, the VRAD 162, the DSLAM 165, the digital video recorder170, any combination thereof, or by utilizing any other appropriateprogram, network, system, or device.

If, at step 216, there are other devices that have requested thecontent, but have not yet received the content, the method 200 mayinclude, at step 218, delivering the content to the other devicesrequesting the content. For example, the content may be delivered to theother devices when the other devices are within a communication range ofat least one of the user devices of the plurality of user devices thatalready received the content. In certain embodiments, the delivering ofthe content to the other devices may be performed by utilizing the firstuser device 102, the second user device 106, the third user device 111,cell site 137, the server 140, the server 145, the server 160, thecommunications network 135, the wireless network 185, the VRAD 162, theDSLAM 165, the digital video recorder 170, any combination thereof, orby utilizing any other appropriate program, network, system, or device.The method 200 may then proceed to step 220, which may includepresenting the media content. For example, the media content may be amovie that may be displayed on an interface of the first user device 102or any other appropriate device. In certain embodiments, the presentingof the media content may be performed by utilizing the first user device102, the second user device 106, the third user device 111, thecommunications network 135, the wireless network 185, the VRAD 162, theDSLAM 165, the digital video recorder 170, the media device 175, anycombination thereof, or by utilizing any other appropriate program,network, system, or device. Notably, the method 200 may furtherincorporate any of the functionality and features as described forsystem 100 or as otherwise described herein.

Notably, the system 100 and methods disclosed herein may includeadditional functionality and features. For example, in certainembodiments, the content may be delivered from the VRAD 162 equippedwith satellite receiver 163 and antenna 164, and/or DSLAM 165 equippedwith the satellite receiver 166 and antenna 167 via Wi-Max, Wi-Fi orother wireless technology to supplant or supplement a wired backhaul ofcell site 137 when delivering the content to the user devices requestingthe content. In certain embodiments, the users may be provided with amenu of content delivery options, such as via a user interface of thefirst, second, and third user devices 102, 106, 111, which may allow theusers to select which networks and/or devices are utilized to deliverthe content to the first, second, and third user devices 102, 106, 111.In certain embodiments, the system 100 may pre-load content onto astorage device (e.g. digital video recorder 170, storage device 180,etc.) at an off-peak time so that the content may be viewed at aselected time chosen by the user.

In certain embodiments, the system 100 and methods may include providingrestrictions on viewing or outputting content until a time authorized bya service provider, content provider, or artist. In certain embodiments,the first and second users 101, 110 may be provided the option, such asvia an application executing on the first, second, and third userdevices 102, 106, 111, to agree to fulfillment timeframes for deliveringthe content to their respective user devices. For example, the firstuser 101 may input information indicating that the first user 101 agreesto have the media content delivered at the same time that the mediacontent is to be delivered to the second user 110. In certainembodiments, the options of agreeing to fulfillment timeframes may beprovided on social media applications and/or profiles so that many usersin a community may view and agree on fulfillment timeframes fordelivering the content. In further embodiments, the system 100 maygenerate a demand curve based on the requests received for content andset the times for delivering the content during times in the demandcurve when demand for content is lower than a certain threshold. Incertain embodiments, the first user 101 may transmit a confirmation(e.g. via first user device 102) for approving and/or agreeing with afulfillment timeframe proposed in response to a text message receivedfrom the third user device 111 of the second user 110.

Referring now also to FIG. 3, at least a portion of the methodologiesand techniques described with respect to the exemplary embodiments ofthe system 100 can incorporate a machine, such as, but not limited to,computer system 300, or other computing device within which a set ofinstructions, when executed, may cause the machine to perform any one ormore of the methodologies or functions discussed above. The machine maybe configured to facilitate various operations conducted by the system100. For example, the machine may be configured to, but is not limitedto, assist the system 100 by providing processing power to assist withprocessing loads experienced in the system 100, by providing storagecapacity for storing instructions or data traversing the system 100, orby assisting with any other operations conducted by or within the system100.

In some embodiments, the machine may operate as a standalone device. Insome embodiments, the machine may be connected (e.g., usingcommunications network 135, wireless network 185, another network, or acombination thereof) to and assist with operations performed by othermachines and systems, such as, but not limited to, the first user device102, the second user device 106, the third user device 111, the cellsite 137, the server 140, the server 145, the database 155, the server160, the VRAD 162, the DSLAM 165, the digital video recorder 170, themedia device 175, the storage device 180, or any combination thereof.The machine may be connected with any component in the system 100. In anetworked deployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of aserver or a client user machine in a server-client user networkenvironment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed)network environment. The machine may comprise a server computer, aclient user computer, a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a laptopcomputer, a desktop computer, a control system, a network router, switchor bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions(sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by thatmachine. Further, while a single machine is illustrated, the term“machine” shall also be taken to include any collection of machines thatindividually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructionsto perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The computer system 300 may include a processor 302 (e.g., a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU, or both), a mainmemory 304 and a static memory 306, which communicate with each othervia a bus 308. The computer system 300 may further include a videodisplay unit 310, which may be, but is not limited to, a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), a flat panel, a solid state display, or a cathode raytube (CRT). The computer system 300 may include an input device 312,such as, but not limited to, a keyboard, a cursor control device 314,such as, but not limited to, a mouse, a disk drive unit 316, a signalgeneration device 318, such as, but not limited to, a speaker or remotecontrol, and a network interface device 320.

The disk drive unit 316 may include a machine-readable medium 322 onwhich is stored one or more sets of instructions 324, such as, but notlimited to, software embodying any one or more of the methodologies orfunctions described herein, including those methods illustrated above.The instructions 324 may also reside, completely or at least partially,within the main memory 304, the static memory 306, or within theprocessor 302, or a combination thereof, during execution thereof by thecomputer system 300. The main memory 304 and the processor 302 also mayconstitute machine-readable media.

Dedicated hardware implementations including, but not limited to,application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays andother hardware devices can likewise be constructed to implement themethods described herein. Applications that may include the apparatusand systems of various embodiments broadly include a variety ofelectronic and computer systems. Some embodiments implement functions intwo or more specific interconnected hardware modules or devices withrelated control and data signals communicated between and through themodules, or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit.Thus, the example system is applicable to software, firmware, andhardware implementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein are intended for operation as software programsrunning on a computer processor. Furthermore, software implementationscan include, but not limited to, distributed processing orcomponent/object distributed processing, parallel processing, or virtualmachine processing can also be constructed to implement the methodsdescribed herein.

The present disclosure contemplates a machine-readable medium 322containing instructions 324 so that a device connected to thecommunications network 135, the wireless network 185, another network,or a combination thereof, can send or receive voice, video or data, andto communicate over the communications network 135, the wireless network185, another network, or a combination thereof, using the instructions.The instructions 324 may further be transmitted or received over thecommunications network 135, the wireless network 185, another network,or a combination thereof, via the network interface device 320.

While the machine-readable medium 322 is shown in an example embodimentto be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should betaken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralizedor distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) thatstore the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by themachine and that causes the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present disclosure.

The terms “machine-readable medium,” “machine-readable device, or“computer-readable device” shall accordingly be taken to include, butnot be limited to: memory devices, solid-state memories such as a memorycard or other package that houses one or more read-only (non-volatile)memories, random access memories, or other re-writable (volatile)memories; magneto-optical or optical medium such as a disk or tape; orother self-contained information archive or set of archives isconsidered a distribution medium equivalent to a tangible storagemedium. The “machine-readable medium,” “machine-readable device,” or“computer-readable device” may be non-transitory, and, in certainembodiments, may not include a wave or signal per se. Accordingly, thedisclosure is considered to include any one or more of amachine-readable medium or a distribution medium, as listed herein andincluding art-recognized equivalents and successor media, in which thesoftware implementations herein are stored.

The illustrations of arrangements described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of various embodiments,and they are not intended to serve as a complete description of all theelements and features of apparatus and systems that might make use ofthe structures described herein. Other arrangements may be utilized andderived therefrom, such that structural and logical substitutions andchanges may be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure.Figures are also merely representational and may not be drawn to scale.Certain proportions thereof may be exaggerated, while others may beminimized. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to beregarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

Thus, although specific arrangements have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any arrangement calculated toachieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific arrangementshown. This disclosure is intended to cover any and all adaptations orvariations of various embodiments and arrangements of the invention.Combinations of the above arrangements, and other arrangements notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the above description. Therefore, it is intended thatthe disclosure not be limited to the particular arrangement(s) disclosedas the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but thatthe invention will include all embodiments and arrangements fallingwithin the scope of the appended claims.

The foregoing is provided for purposes of illustrating, explaining, anddescribing embodiments of this invention. Modifications and adaptationsto these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art andmay be made without departing from the scope or spirit of thisinvention. Upon reviewing the aforementioned embodiments, it would beevident to an artisan with ordinary skill in the art that saidembodiments can be modified, reduced, or enhanced without departing fromthe scope and spirit of the claims described below.

We claim:
 1. A system, comprising: a memory that stores instructions;and a processor that executes the instructions to perform operations,the operations comprising: receiving a plurality of requests for contentfrom a plurality of user devices; synchronizing, in response to theplurality of requests and when a threshold number of requests of theplurality of requests for the content are received, fulfillmenttimeframes for delivering the content to the plurality of user devices;determining an availability of a wireless network for linking theplurality of user devices before delivering the content from a storagedevice to the plurality of user devices; delivering the content to theplurality of user devices using a cellular network, a fiber network,another network, or a combination thereof responsive to a determinationthat the wireless network is unavailable; and confirming the fulfillmenttimeframes based on a proposal for agreeing to the fulfillmenttimeframes provided in a text message received from a first user deviceof the plurality of user devices, wherein an option for making theproposal for agreeing to the fulfillment timeframes is provided on aprofile of a user using the first user device.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the operations further comprise determining when the thresholdnumber of requests of the plurality of requests for the content havebeen received.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations furthercomprise synchronizing the fulfillment timeframes based on a preset timeinterval.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations furthercomprise delivering the content to the first user device via thewireless network.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the operationsfurther comprise determining an availability of a satellite network tothe plurality of user devices prior to delivering the content to thefirst user device.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the operationsfurther comprise delivering the content to a storage device.
 7. Thesystem of claim 6, wherein the operations further comprise facilitatingdelivering of the content from the storage device to the plurality ofuser devices.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations furthercomprise facilitating presentation of the content.
 9. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the operations further comprise providing a menu ofcontent delivery options for delivering the content.
 10. The system ofclaim 9, wherein the operations further comprise receiving a selectionof a content delivery option of the content delivery options from thefirst user device.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the operationsfurther comprise facilitating transfer of the content from the firstuser device to a second user device.
 12. The system of claim 1, whereinthe operations further comprise employing storage-based buffering toassist during a low-bandwidth delivery mode.
 13. The system of claim 1,wherein the operations further comprise delivering the content via acellular network if delivering the content does not use up a thresholdamount of bandwidth.
 14. A method, comprising: receiving a plurality ofrequests for content from a plurality of user devices; synchronizing, byutilizing instructions from a memory that are executed by a processorand in response to the plurality of requests and when a threshold numberof requests of the plurality of requests for the content are received,fulfillment timeframes for delivering the content to the plurality ofuser devices; determining an availability of a wireless network forlinking the plurality of user devices before delivering the content froma storage device to the plurality of user devices; delivering thecontent to the plurality of user devices using a cellular network, afiber network, another network, or a combination thereof responsive to adetermination that the wireless network is unavailable; and confirmingthe fulfillment timeframes based on a proposal for agreeing to thefulfillment timeframes provided in a text message received from a firstuser device of the plurality of user devices, wherein an option formaking the proposal for agreeing to the fulfillment timeframes isprovided on a profile of a user using the first user device.
 15. Themethod of claim 14, further comprising enabling the first user device toserve as a media collection proxy for another user device of theplurality of user devices.
 16. The method of claim 14, furthercomprising continuing to receive the plurality of requests until thethreshold number of requests are received.
 17. The method of claim 14,further comprising delivering the content via the wireless network tothe plurality of user devices if the wireless network is available. 18.The method of claim 14, further comprising preloading the content onto astorage device at an off-peak time.
 19. A non-transitory,computer-readable device comprising instructions, which when executed bya processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:receiving a plurality of requests for content from a plurality of userdevices; synchronizing, in response to the plurality of requests andwhen a threshold number of requests of the plurality of requests for thecontent are received, fulfillment timeframes for delivering the contentto the plurality of user devices; determining an availability of awireless network for linking the plurality of user devices beforedelivering the content from the storage device to the plurality of userdevices; delivering the content to the plurality of user devices using acellular network, a fiber network, another network, or a combinationthereof responsive to a determination that the wireless network isunavailable; and confirming the fulfillment timeframes based on aproposal for agreeing to the fulfillment timeframes provided in a textmessage received from a first user device of the plurality of userdevices, wherein an option for making the proposal for agreeing to thefulfillment timeframes is provided on a profile of a user using thefirst user device.